Photos: OKAYSUMMER! 2011 Party Blow Out Photo Re-Cap

August 22, 2011 Leave a comment

We hate to rub it in, but if you missed our OKAYSUMMER! Pop-Up Party this past Saturday (8/20) you slept on possibly the funnest event of the summer (and yes, I mean FUNNEST!).  With a sizzling hot cast of music makers, including Just A Band (Kenya) – with their FIRST U.S. performance (!!), Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew (Sierra Leone), DJ Gravy (Rice N Peas, LargeUp), DJ MoMa, Sinkane – pictured above (Yeasayer), Little Shalimar (Chin Chin, Reverend Vince, Big Mono), Saarid (Throne of Blood, VHS or Beta), and Jaleel Bunton (TV on the Radio) – and dumpster diving pools, girls in swimsuits, boys in Speedos, badminton, ping pong, Sangria, photo booths, fire spinning, fashion shows, and plenty of debauchery – let’s just say some of us (ahem…) are still hung over.  Two days later.  If you were there, relive the action with our stunning photo series, thanks to Lauren Silberman and The Self-Portrait Project, below – if you weren’t able to make it, these flicks will take you there.  Big up to our fam-a-lam Okayplayer and LargeUp, and our co-party-throwers The Danger and 3rd Ward.

OKAYSUMMER! photos by Lauren Silberman

 

OKAYSUMMER! photos by The Self-Portrait Project

 

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NYC: The OKAYSUMMER Pop-Up Party!

August 18, 2011 Leave a comment

Okayplayer and Okayafrica present: The OKAYSUMMER Pop-Up Party!
+ A late-summer chance to get your DRINK + DANCE + SWIM on +

Set at the brand-new, tropical-infused, paradise-like, art oasis – an ode to the Boca Raton resorts of the 1940′s – come swag out with us at The Palms this Saturday for a day and night of DJs, performances, swimming, theatrics, acts of fire, coconut cocktails, and lobster rolls.

{also: THE OFFICIAL AFTERPARTY FOR JUST A BAND’s PHENOMENAL EXHIBIT “Kudishnyao!“}

There will be the infamous dumpster pools (yes, you can swim!). There will be a massive fire performance. There will be a vintage bathing suit fashion show. There will be strip bocce and bubble gun battles. There will be synchronized swim performers. There will be liquor, dance-floors, and thoughtful hedonism. There will be MUSIC.

{also: THE OFFICIAL “WELCOME BACK DRY EYE CREW” EXTRAVAGANZA}

Can you believe this ish? We can’t.

Performances/DJ sets from: Read More »

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NYC: Just A Band Exhibit “Kudishnyao!”

August 17, 2011 1 Comment

It’s official! Just A Band has touched down on American soil and is now in NYC to exhibit their video-art installation KUDISHNYAO! (pronounced COO-DISH-NY-OW),  which will show at Rush Gallery in NYC  August 18th -Sept. 3rd, and Bard College Sept. 9th – 11th. In addition they will be hosting a discussion on music and film on the 23rd (stay tuned) and perform at Drom on the 24th.

According to all the kids in Kenya, “Kudishnyao!” is the sound of a bullet ricocheting out of a gun – imperative to use while play fighting, of course.  Inspiration for the 6-channel video installation is derived from spectator response of their first work originally commissioned by the Goethe-Institut in Nairobi. “We’ve decided to have six simultaneous video streams that are all connected. The stories play out on all six screens at the same time, and you can watch whichever you want – hopefully, you’ll get different perspectives depending on which side you watch.”

Different perspectives is right! We are beyond pumped for their visit and to show our gratitude, yours truly, Okayafrica (and Okayplayer, obvs) will be presenting the The Official Afterparty for the exhibit on Saturday the 20th with our friends over at the brand new Long Island City pool party,  The Palms. Keep up for the line up and deets.

 


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Video: Collabo between Kenya’s Just a Band and Sweden’s Ulrika

April 25, 2011 1 Comment

A few weeks ago I had tweeted to Just-A-Band a “Zombie” cover (The Cranberries song from ’94, not Fela‘s song) that my sister Ulrika had made (video above) – they fell in love with it, and told me during the most recent Sandbox dinner held in Nairobi, Kenya that they wanted to work with her. Flashing lights and two seconds later I proposed the co-creation of a song. I wondered if I should send an A Capella or a semi-finalized song for them to work with. After a quick internal discussions the answer was:  A Capella. I talked on skype with my sister Ulrika and she loved the idea.  Turns out she will send over a song after brainstorming what song to send with her producer. Whatever comes out of this unique collaboration will be a blockbuster, I’m sure. I’ll do everything in my power to get the co-made song up first on okayafrica, once completed – stay tuned.

[Sebastian is OKA's new resident correspondent, straight from the streets of Nairobi, Kenya]

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Audio: Just A Band’s Soupy Mixtape

April 21, 2011 Leave a comment

Kenya’s electro-art-indie-afro band, Just A Band, recently bandcamped their latest mixtape, Kudish! (The Sound of Soup).

JAB’s Blinky writes in:

From the first time we ever went on stage (in August 2008 – nerve-wracking!) for live performances and/or DJ-sets, we’ve always prepared some remixes of our own songs (and other Kenyan songs we like) to play before we start or after we finish. We’ve never released any of those remixes until today!

We’ve been asked many times to put those mashups and remixes together, so after Daniel unleashed a particularly fun set at the Kudishnyao street party, we figured we should put them together. Here’s “Kudish! The Sound of Soup”, available as a free download courtesy of Bandcamp (which is the coolest music platform we’ve ever worked with). It’s a collection of music we wish we could hear on radio. Grab it and play it loud, and most of all – tell us what you think! :)

You can find out more about JAB’s goings-on here;  word on the street is that they may be Stateside this summer.

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Video: Ak Sang Grave Is Back

July 21, 2010 Leave a comment

Earlier this year, Ak Sang Grave came back. The Camerounian rap mainstay’s 2010 release, Au Fond Du Cœur, was preceded with the drop of the “Ak Sang Grave Is Back” video. Receiving less attention than Just A Band’s “Ha-He” remix of Makmende Amerudi antics, heralded in the Wall Street Journal of all places as Kenya’s first viral video, “Ak Sang Grave Is Back” has a similar kind of AfroFunk superhero feel to it. But instead of the existential ass-kicking of Makmende, Ak Sang Grave emcees Rizbo and Ebou lead their friends in a session of vintage goofing off. In an irresistible retro party scene the band members’ alter-egos are introduced with blaxploitation style pop-up credits, Panama – Mesure – Boss – Pianaba – Solofeling – Tamtamba – Ozamba. Curiously, the drummer gets no alias but instead lays in the cut rocking an appropriate ?uestlove-esque fro. A single groove and a Soul Train line gets the message across: Ak Sang Grave is apparently back.

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Video: Viral “Makmende” Signals Shift in African Music as Twitter Generation Takes Lead

July 15, 2010 Leave a comment

Since 2004, we at Modiba Productions have aimed to be Purveyors of Cultural Dopeness. We’re the crew who brought you “ASAP: The Afrobeat Sudan Aid Project,” introduced you to the son-of-a-legend, Vieux Farka Toure (who you most recently saw at the World Cup’s Opening Ceremony Celebration), and are bringing it up to the present with Sierra Leone’s finest, Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew. Running an international record label, publishing and management company, we have the privilege of working with some amazing musicians, artists and organizations from around the globe, and have accordingly had the opportunity to share some of our stories via a column in The Huffington Post. The Modiba Column is HuffPost World’s regular feature that highlights interesting musicians and musical trends around the world. So when our friends at Penya Records in Kenya saw the video for Just A Band‘s “Ha-He” turn into Africa’s first “viral success,” Modiba team writer Lars Russell dug a little deeper. To those who have heard at least one Chuck Norris joke (ie. Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in three moves), the premise of the video is a familiar one: Makmende Amerudi is the infallible gangster that guys what to be and girls want to be with. Check out the full video, and then continue reading Lars Russell’s take on the video and band that came to be known as Africa’s first viral hit.
Continue reading at The Huffington Post’s Modiba Column.

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Audio: Just A Band’s “Save My Soul”

July 11, 2010 3 Comments

Ladies, I know you all miss the boy r&b groups from the 90s, so do I, but have no worries, this song from Just A Band, “Save My Soul” is a mixture of Immature, Soul IV Real, and Boyz ll Men gone to Africa — Kenya to be exact. With a mix of a futuristic afro-electro, throw back 90s pop, and maybe even a touch of Radiohead in there, Just A Band has created their own genre, and are paving the way for a great new sound.

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